Spiritual Gifts (Part III)

Well, good morning to you all.

Good morning to you all.

This is a retreat. We can actually speak and respond.

Unlike church where you have to be quiet.

Glad that everybody's here. Glad that you all survived the night.

I hope you got a decent amount of sleep. I hear the bonfire went late.

Unofficial off-book festivities went later.

Hope you got sleep.

It's been a great time here for most of us.

I think that we're here as a final session, a final gathering of worship before we head back to D.C.

I don't know if anybody came out here simply to join us for worship.

Oh, my goodness. Well done.

Extra crowns in heaven for you.

Not bad, ladies. Not bad. That's fantastic.

Okay. Well, in that case, a little word of introduction is in order.

For some of us, this is our Sunday worship gathering.

For some of us, this is the concluding session of a parish retreat on the spiritual gifts.

I had always thought that after this, this would be known as the spiritual gifts retreat.

Obviously, that is not true.

It will hereafter be known as the shipmaster retreat.

And that was painfully obvious last night.

There's nothing that we can do about it.

So we have to embrace it and move on.

But as I was thinking about this final session and how to wrap up, these two passages came to mind.

This amazing passage in Matthew chapter 25 that we'll look at in a little while.

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

And then the more guiding passage that we're going to look at, 1 Peter 4, verses 7 through 11.

1 Peter 4:7–11

And this is the first one to reflect on as we have been talking about the spiritual gifts.

We've been talking about understanding the gifts, what they are in general.

We've been talking about how to discern the gifts, what they are in particular.

And this morning, the topic will be, what does it mean to steward those gifts well?

What does it mean to be good stewards of all that God has given us?

And these passages speak to that in particular.

And so first I want to look at 1 Peter 4, verses 7 through 11.

1 Peter 4:7–11

And I think even for those of us who have not been here talking about spiritual gifts, this is an amazing passage.

I mean, you'd be hard-pressed to find a book that does a better job explaining what ministry is.

Whether you're ministering in your church or in your job or in any other context.

It's a great little primer on ministry.

And the point that it makes is this, that being a Christian means being a steward.

That to be a Christian is to be a steward of everything.

And so we're going to look at two things here, the context of our stewardship and the exercise of our stewardship.

So let's pray as we get started.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.

As we do every week, we thank you for your promise and ability to speak to us.

We pray that as we open your word this morning that you would clear away the fog of a late night.

That you would help the caffeine to work in our system.

That you would, above all, remove distractions and obstacles so that you can empower your word to come alive.

To confront us with the reality of the gospel and the presence in the face of your son, Jesus Christ.

And it's in his name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

So first of all, the context of our stewardship.

I want to spend a few minutes just looking at this first verse in the passage in 1 Peter.

If you have Bibles, you can open them.

If you have iPhones, you can fire them up.

1 Peter 4, verse 7.

1 Peter 4:7

The end of all things is at hand, therefore.

And I love this.

There's an amazing statement being made here.

Now, when you first hear this, obviously, what do you think of?

Right.

And crazy people with sandwich board signs on street corners, right?

The end is near.

The end is near.

But I want you to notice that Peter goes on to say,

The end of all things is at hand, therefore.

Be self-controlled and sober-minded.

You know what the word sober means in the Bible?

The word sober means sane.

It's the opposite of insane or being out of your mind.

So think of the demon-possessed man in Mark chapter 5.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

And after Jesus casts out the demons and heals him,

we find the man clothed and in his right mind, right?

Same word.

So what is sanity then?

Sanity means the ability to correctly perceive reality, right?

So to be sober is to be sane.

And to be sane is to correctly perceive reality,

to see things for what they actually are.

So he's saying the end of all things is at hand,

therefore, it's more important now than ever before

for you to see things as they really are.

Be sane.

Think clearly.

And the reason is because the end is coming.

But by end, he doesn't mean a full stop to creation.

What he actually means is a major change is coming.

A major transition in history is upon us.

February 28, 2002.

That was the official date on which national currencies

in many parts of Europe ceased to be legal tender.

And the euro became the only acceptable currency.

February 28, 2002.

Before that date, there was a period of overlap.

So there was a time in many of these countries

where you could continue using your old currency

or you could exchange that old currency for euros

and start using the euros early.

So there was a period of time

in which both currencies were accepted, right?

But during that time, the word was going out

that this date is coming.

February 28 is coming.

February 28 is upon us.

It's drawing near.

And the time is now for you to exchange

all of your old currency

to get all of the new currency

so that you'll be ready when that date comes

because after that date passes,

all of that old currency

will just be worthless pieces of paper.

It'll have no value in the new economy.

So there were people who recognized that,

who saw clearly that that date was coming,

who took appropriate measures to prepare,

and there were people who didn't.

And so the Bible says that we are now

in a time of overlap, right?

Theologians call it the already but not yet, right?

The old world order or the old economy

is still in operation, right?

So sin and death are still factors.

They're still realities.

Injustice still exists.

Exploitation still happens.

And the old currencies are still in use.

Your intelligence, your popularity,

your attractiveness, your race,

your privilege, your education,

your accomplishments,

all of these forms of currency,

in other words,

all of these things that will get you

something in this world,

they have value in this world.

They will,

they're things that you can use

to acquire other things, right?

To give you access to other things.

All of these forms of currency are,

for the time being,

still accepted in the world.

And yet what Peter is saying is this,

the kingdom of God has broken into this world.

And one day the old world

is going to fully pass away

and the kingdom will become

the new world order,

complete with a new economy

and a new currency.

Does this make sense?

So Jesus' entire earthly ministry,

there's one way to look at it

where you're saying,

you know,

Jesus did these miracles

and why did he do the miracles?

Well, to prove that he was the son of God.

No, in fact,

he didn't seem really concerned

with proving that he was the son of God.

He simply was.

Why did he do the miracles?

It was to give people a preview

of what this new world order would look like.

Every single miracle is meant to teach us

what the new world order will be like.

So he gives sight to the blind.

Why?

To show that in the new world order

there will be no darkness.

There will be no ignorance to the truth.

Right?

He makes the lame walk.

Why?

To show that the kingdom

will be a world

in which no one is encumbered

and paralyzed by sin and death.

Right?

He raises the dead

to show that in the kingdom

there will be no more death.

One day the water of this world

will become the wine

of the kingdom of God.

He's giving us a preview of that.

In the kingdom economy,

the proud will be made humble

but the low will be lifted up.

In the kingdom economy,

the one who is willing to lose his life

for the sake of Jesus and the gospel

will gain it back in full

but the one who tries to hold on to his life

will lose it.

In the new world order,

in the kingdom,

those who mourn

will once and for all be comforted.

Those who hunger

and thirst for righteousness

will be satisfied.

The poor will become rich.

The meek will inherit the earth.

The last will become first.

The outsiders will become the guests of honor.

In the new world order of the kingdom of God,

all of this is coming.

And so Peter is saying,

the end of all things is near.

The end of the old world order

and the new world order,

the new economy,

the new kingdom has come.

Therefore, we need to think clearly.

We need to pray faithfully.

And we need to exchange

all of our old currency

for the new currency of the kingdom.

What is that currency?

Love.

It's the only currency accepted

in the new world order.

That's why it goes on in verse 8 to say,

above all,

once you're thinking clearly,

once you understand what's happening,

once you understand

that that date is quick approaching,

exchange all of that old currency

for the one currency that will matter.

Love.

Above all,

keep loving one another earnestly

since love covers a multitude of sins.

So he's saying this,

our accomplishments,

our wealth,

our popularity,

our success

will all one day be worthless.

Because in God's economy,

love is the only currency.

But it's the kind of love

love that we do not generate,

cannot create on our own.

It's something that has to be given to us

or entrusted to us.

It's a love that has to be given to us

through Jesus Christ.

And that's why earlier in his letter,

Peter says in chapter 1,

Blessed be the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to his great mercy,

he has caused us to be born again

to a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

from the dead

to an inheritance

that is imperishable,

undefiled,

and unfading,

kept in heaven for you.

So by dying for us,

by taking our place,

by atoning for our sin,

Jesus secures for us

an inheritance.

And you may think of that inheritance

as a stockpile

of the currency

of the kingdom of God.

It's a kingdom inheritance.

So here's the context of our stewardship

to sort of answer the first question.

The context of our stewardship is this,

as we think about

how do we use

all that we have?

How do we prioritize things in our lives?

What comes first?

What is the thing to which

we put everything else under?

What goes above all of that?

It's love

because the old world order

with its old economy

is passing away

and God's kingdom is replacing it.

And the old currency in God's kingdom,

I'm sorry,

and the old currency is passing away

and being replaced by the new currency

of love.

And not just love,

but gracious love.

Love that doesn't come from us,

but that is given like a gift to us.

And as believers,

we have been made stewards

of that love.

So the next question we need to ask is this,

what does that mean?

Specifically as it relates

to our spiritual gifts.

Because if you read the passage,

he goes on and he says,

show hospitality without grumbling.

Absolutely.

And then he goes on

and what's the next thing

we're called to do?

Use our gifts

like good stewards.

And it's amazing

if he's trying to distill,

you know,

have the right perspective,

be thinking clearly,

get your priorities in order.

And one of the main things

he focuses on

is how we use our gifts.

In other words,

that figures prominently

in what it means to be stewards

anticipating the coming of the kingdom.

How we use our gifts.

So this brings us

to the second thing

I want to focus on,

the second half,

the exercise of our stewardship.

In other words,

how do we actually go about it?

What does it mean

to be a good steward?

He says in verse 10,

as each has received a gift,

use it to serve one another

as good stewards

of God's varied grace.

Whoever speaks

is one who speaks oracles of God.

Whoever serves

is one who serves

by the strength

that God supplies

in order that in everything

God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ.

To him belong glory

and dominion

forever and ever.

Amen.

So the first point

we see here

is the good stewards,

and this may seem obvious

to some of you,

but it's worth pointing out

that good stewards,

part of what it means

to be a good steward

is that you actually use

what's been entrusted to you.

You actually use it.

And that's why I wanted

to look at Matthew 25,

this wonderful parable

that Jesus tells

about stewardship,

the parable of the talents.

A wealthy man entrusts

all of his money

to three servants.

He has five talents

to one servant,

two talents to another,

one talent to a third.

A talent is a very large

sum of money,

so we might as well

think of it as

five million dollars,

two million dollars,

and one million dollars.

A lot of money.

And when he returns,

after being away

for a while,

the master finds

that the first two servants

have actually used

the talents.

They've invested them well,

and they've each

made a return.

They've each doubled

their investment,

and they both are rewarded.

Five talents becomes ten,

two become four,

they're both rewarded.

Enter into the pleasure

of your master.

But the third servant

simply digs a hole

in the ground,

buries the talent,

and then makes a bunch

of excuses for why

he didn't invest it.

The master says,

well, what happened?

And if you notice,

he actually blames the master.

Well, I heard what kind

of person you were.

It's sort of a

passive-aggressive way

of saying,

I did what I did,

and it's your fault, right?

A little bit of blame

shifting going on.

Master's not having it,

and so the master,

of course,

rewards the first two servants,

but he condemns the third.

You wicked

and slothful servant.

Not holding back.

And then the point

of the parable

comes in verse 29,

for to everyone

who has

will more be given,

and he will have

an abundance.

But from the one

who has not,

even what he has

will be taken away.

Now that's

a little confusing.

Let me put it

in context for you.

Think about your muscles.

I don't know

how often you think

about your muscles,

but think about

your muscles now.

If you develop

your muscles,

if you use

your muscles,

if you invest

your muscles

in physical activity,

then what is

the reward

that comes?

The reward

that comes

is the increased

capacity

to do more.

Right?

So the more

you use them,

the more

you gain

a capacity.

In other words,

to you,

more is given.

Right?

But if you don't

use your muscles,

if you lie in bed

all day long

and binge watch

Netflix

and do that

for days and days

and days,

then what happens?

Even what you have

will be taken away.

Right?

They atrophy.

Right?

So remember,

yesterday,

we said that

the spiritual gifts

are the continued

ministry of Jesus Christ

in the world

through individual

Christians

by the power

of the Holy Spirit.

So take that image

and apply it

to this parable.

Jesus is the master

and he has divided

his power

or his ministry

among all

of his people.

Five talents,

two talents,

ten talents,

fifteen talents.

He's divided

his ministry up.

And we've each

been entrusted,

we've each

been made stewards

of spiritual gifts

that actually

belong to Jesus.

And the same

principle is true.

The more we use

our gifts,

the more we invest

in the life

of the church,

the more we prioritize

building others up

and bringing those

outside the church

in,

the more we will grow

in what we can do.

The more you use

what you've been given,

the more you will be

able to do.

But if we remain

uninvolved,

if we remain

unengaged,

if we remain

unwilling to serve,

no matter what

excuses we may make,

our gifts will

atrophy.

Or the unknown

gifts will remain

dormant.

So good stewards

use what has been

entrusted to them.

they use.

Now,

I know yesterday

I said

that gifts are not

the same thing

as talents.

But in this case,

the talents represent

the gifts.

Last night,

we also learned

make sure you get

that in your notes.

I think last night

we also learned

that there are gifts,

there are talents,

and there are

varieties.

God's very grace.

God's very grace show.

That's what we'll

call it next year,

the God's very grace show.

But even some of

those things that

we may look down on,

we may laugh at,

we may think,

oh, that's just some...

There are ways that

God may be able

to use that.

If there's anything

I want to impress

upon you,

it is not to

underestimate what

God can do

through you.

Even through the

parts of you,

the aspects of you

that you think

are simply silly,

inconsequential,

random,

that God can

use all of it.

But the question is,

will you use all of it?

Will you do that?

Or will you let it atrophy?

So what does a good steward do?

A good steward uses

all that they've been given,

not in ways that reflect

their own preferences,

but those that reflect

the preferences of the owner.

that's what a good steward does.

So Peter says,

we should do all of this,

what?

In order that in everything

God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ.

To him belong glory

and dominion

forever and ever.

Amen.

The point is,

our gifts are not about us,

but about loving others

in ways that glorify God.

And if we lose

this central focus,

our gifts can quickly

become about us.

Right?

If we lose the focus

that God is the one

who enables it,

God is the one

who empowers it,

and God's glory

is the purpose

for which it was all

given to us.

Loving others

for God's glory.

If we lose that,

then what happens

is that our gifts

begin to turn inward.

Our gifts begin

to become twisted.

They begin to become distorted.

They begin to point

in the wrong direction.

Right?

So those with the gift

of leadership,

leadership can be used

to build up

our own kingdoms

rather than the kingdom

of God.

Right?

The gift,

the life-giving gift

of encouragement

can start to turn inward

and become empty flattery.

Right?

Genuine hospitality

can give way

to entertaining.

You know,

where the focus

is on the beauty

of your home

and the quality

of the cuisine

rather than on

strangers becoming friends

and friends becoming family.

They begin to turn inward.

The gift of helping

can become the need

to be needed.

Right?

The gift of speaking

can be used

to build a cult

of personality.

The gift of serving

can give way

to resentment.

Right?

These gifts

that are meant

to be life-giving

for us

and those whom we serve

can turn inward

and become destructive

to us

and those whom we

may unintentionally

harm.

So unless

the glory of God

is our central focus

all of these gifts

that are entrusted

to us as stewards

will become distorted

turned inward

and this is why

it's crucial for us

to remember

and to remind one another

that we are stewards

and not owners

of all that we have

because a steward

uses what they've been given

in ways that reflect

the values of the owner

and not the steward.

So being a Christian

as I said

at the beginning

is being a steward.

To be a Christian

is to be a steward.

Our vision

at Church of the Advent

is

every member of ministry

where every single person

in our church

is actively serving

and using their gifts

fully

for the common good.

And I hope it's clear

by now

at the end of the weekend

that this isn't primarily

because we need it.

Right?

We could restructure

our budget

and decide to start

hiring people

to do all of the things

that we need to do.

Hire a setup crew

and hire a cleanup crew

and hire professionals

to do all of this stuff.

Right?

Just professionalize everything

and you could just come

and enjoy

a well-produced service

and hopefully get

some meaning out of it

and you know,

you would maybe

enjoy the fact

that we would maybe

have fewer

technical difficulties

and fewer glitches

and fewer last-minute

emergencies

where we're scrambling

and the vergers

would no longer

have to wonder

will there be bread

this week?

And we would have

perfect bread

and I could tear it

and I would never

even break a sweat

and all of it

could be smooth

and polished

and amazing

and all of that

would be incredible,

right?

We could probably afford it.

We would have to

make some changes

but we could probably do it.

But our church would die.

We would die.

We would die.

We would fade away.

So the point is not

that we need you to serve

because if you don't serve

then things don't work right.

I mean,

on the surface

that's the reason.

The real point is

you need to serve.

You need to be involved

because it's your design

as a steward

of God's varied grace

and love.

If you don't use

these gifts

that God has given you,

they will atrophy.

So our priority

is actually

not just filling

volunteer slots.

We want to structure

our church

in a way

that requires you.

The whole design

of the church

is meant to require

that people serve

because we are a body

and you are cells

in that body

like we talked about yesterday.

And what that gives you

is not only

the opportunity

to grow

and to learn your gifts

but it gives you

the tremendous fulfillment

and joy

in seeing the ways

that God can use you.

If you're made

to serve

and to meet needs

in that way

then when you do it

it will bring you joy

and you will get to see

what God does.

You'll get to sense

what it's like

to be part of something great

that God is doing

in the world.

So for those of you

who are already

deeply involved

and many of you are

and by the way

you've seen people

even this weekend

serving and setting up

and cleaning up food

and running sound

and running the check-in

and caring for our kids

and all of the various ways

that people have been serving

you should congratulate them

and thank them

and tell them

how much you appreciate them.

If you're already serving

then I pray

that as you do that

God would clarify for you

the ways that he's gifted you

to serve.

The ways that he has

empowered you to bring life

to his body

and I pray that God

would empower you

for all that you're doing.

If you're not

if you're still sort of

on the periphery

if you're trying to figure out

whether or not

you want to become

more involved

if you're not yet

playing a significant role

in the life of our church

in any way

I know that there are

a lot of great reasons

for that out there.

So this isn't a time

to point fingers

or to turn any screws

but you should at least

reflect on this question.

Are you investing

in currency

of the old world

that will one day

be meaningless

or are you investing

in things

that will last

into God's kingdom

things that will

have value

in an economy

where the only currency

that matters

is the currency

of God's love.

And I want to leave you

with that question

and close us in prayer.

Lord we do thank you

that even as we talk

about stewardship

even as we talk about

what it means

to be oriented

toward your glory

we have the greatest

example of that

in your son Jesus Christ.

Lord who is the ultimate

steward

who took all

that you had entrusted

to him

laid down his own life

to see it through

Lord.

We thank you

for the beauty of that

we thank you

for the beauty

and the hope

of the gospel

we thank you

for the coming

of your new kingdom

and I pray

that for everybody

here not just

not just in this church

but that you would

give us all a vision

for what good stewardship

looks like in our jobs

in our vocations

that you've called us to

Lord in every sphere

of vocation

that we would think

as stewards

that we would recognize

all that we have

all the access

we have

all the opportunities

we have

as things to be stewarded

for your kingdom.

Lord I pray

that this would be

real in our church community

and I pray

it would be real

as far as you scatter

us around the world

in all of the varied ways

that you've called us

to serve

the common good

of this world.

Lord we pray

that you would

infuse us

with power

and bless us

with an awareness

of the ways

that each one of us

is called to serve

in unity

as your kingdom

breaks into this world.

And we pray this

in your son's holy name.

Amen.